When Belle logged in, she found Lysandra idling in a chair. The commons hall of Queen's Estate was dimly but comfortably lit. It hadn't taken the two of them long to adjust to what was now their new home in Xuanpu, although Belle herself enjoyed Cloverbell more. Lysandra looked up as she materialized, and let out a soft smile.
“Well hi, hon!” the pixie-girl said.
“Hey.” the other replied in a tired but at least cheerful tone. Belle wasn't going to say it out loud, but Lysandra was definitely more open than she had been during the tournament. She sat down on the arm of the chair, and used a menu to turn up the small hearth nearby. Accelerated time, apparently, did not include seasonal changes.
“Where's the kiddos?” Belle wondered as she looked around.
“Hmm? Oh; I got in early to relax here, and was just idly browsing the news a bit before you got on. The main city had a power outage, and it's probably still going on. Guess the silly girls forgot the Dream Machine has a battery.” she replied with a gentle smile.
“That's true, but the 'net won't function with the power out either.” Belle shrugged.
“Ohh. That's right. Our university here has redundancies for that sort of thing, but the city doesn't for some reason.”
“Public funding issues, I think.”
“Tch. Private bucks versus public money, you mean.” the werewolf girl remarked, some of her initial self cropping up.
“Hrrm, more or less!” the other wryly smiled. “So how's the assignment going?”
“The physics one?” Lysandra said, and Belle nodded. “Hate it. But I've got to get through it somehow, or I'll never make it to the next course.”
“Astrophysics has taken some strong strides the last couple of decades; no wonder it's so tough,” Belle remarked. “And now with technology like this, we can ready our astronaut teams for deeper space missions.”
“Don't forget the actual high-powered space rovers heading out to the asteroid belt and stuff,” Lysandra nodded. “Here we are talking about space in a fantasy game!” she said with a short laugh.
“That is funny!” the other agreed. “Bet you're focused on the exam when you're not here.” she then said.
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“Kind of?” Lysandra returned. “I got good marks on the mock-up, so I'm fairly confident. Just want to polish it up a bit.”
“I so get that. And, thanks for the Lit homework assist yesterday.” Belle then said.
“Your skyclad tutor is available twenty-four seven.” the werewolf girl smirked back.
“And in about a month or so I get to spend a lot more time with her.” the other grinned back. Lysandra-Christina and Belle-Mandy had almost settled on an apartment together for their next semester at university. They weren't quite sure whether they wanted the one closer to the bar or the bakery, but personally, Belle thought the bakery argument was gaining traction with her soon-to-be roommate.
“What about your exams?” Lysandra then asked her.
“Hmm... the sociology one shouldn't be hard... but the philosophy one is going to give me a headache no matter what. At least the psychology exam is promising to be a breeze.” Belle said.
“Think you'll try a work-semester next year or so?”
“Maybe? Ooh, I know, I'll be a school counselor!”
“Oh, good on you. I wish you'd counseled me in school.” the other girl smiled. “I'm here for you now.” Belle promised in a soft voice.
“I know.” Lysandra smiled. “Hmm... maybe I'll apply for a work-semester at the girls' school.”
“Hmm? Lana and the others?”
“I think Lana is at another school, but the others are definitely at the same place.” “Cute.” the werewolf girl nodded. “Do it. And we should definitely try to hang out with them this summer, too.”
“Oh definitely.” Belle nodded. “Although poor Lana may be the subject of Lizzy's... 'playful' whims again!” she noted, and Lysandra softly cackled.
“Ahh, poor Lana, always getting felt up by our irrepressibly lovable smith in the baths.” she chuckled.
“One of these days I might actually try it too... I wonder why she does that, though.”
“Hmm... probably just a form of teasing we've forgotten how to enjoy. Let teenage girls be teenage girls.”
“Says the nineteen year-old.” Belle smirked back.
“A socially repressed nineteen year-old who was never the target or the instigator of such shenanigans.” the other smiled in return.
“N-no comeback here,” the pixie softly giggled. A notice-panel then popped up in front of Lysandra, and she tapped it to see what it was.
“Oh, the power's back on in the city.” the werewolf girl said.
“I guess we'll see the others in a few minutes or so.” Belle remarked.
“Probably.” Lysandra agreed, stretching herself and yawning. “That means it'll be time for more fun adventures!” she grinned as she got up, and Belle smiled as she jumped into the air to hover nearby.
“Definitely!” she agreed happily, and the two of them readied themselves for another night of excitement in Panarena with their friends.